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Deandre Brown

Ms. Trotter

English 1101

6/20/2018

Third Grade Success

Every year at my old school, Pathway School of Discovery, I took a test in the fall

and the spring ​called​ the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA). ​We​ took it to see

how much we learned in the year and used it to see our growth. In third grade, I beat my

first goal ​which was about math​. The next day I beat my goal again ​for the reading test

and ​felt​ ​excited. During the last test, I ​felt ​confident that I ​could ​beat my ​reading

comprehension​ and I ended up doing so. ​My goal was 215 and I got a 220​. I remember

being the happiest I ​had​ ever been ​because​ ​plenty of good things happened to me that

day. Looking back at that day, it left a big impact on my life ​and​ ​the events that

happened to me that day have affected my life in good ways.

I ​had​ ​answered the final question and was as nervous as a kid who broke

someone’s window ​with a baseball​. I hesitated to click the “go on” button that seemed to

grow in my eyes. I didn’t know if I did well or not but I wasn’t going to find out if I stared

at the monitor. I pressed enter on the keyboard and covered my eyes. I didn’t know

what to expect when I opened them, but I saw my score ​right​ ​away through the big

words and numbers surrounding it. My score was 220 and ​my smile grew​. My goal was

215, and to me, going that much over ​made me feel I could pass my driving test on the

first try. I was as happy as a clam​,​ and I hurried to my class to show my teacher. ​Mr.
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Deck was pretty cool and when I first went to third grade, I thought he was going to be

mean. He was tall and bald and let all of us kids do a lot of things other teachers would

not agree with​. I walked in the classroom and the whole class ​stared​ at me​,​ wondering if

I really beat my goal. I decided to prank them and looked sad as I ​walked​ past them.

Almost everyone’s expression died out as they saw me​. I finally got to Mr. Deck’s messy

brown desk and gave him the slip that showed all three beaten goals. My expression

changed real fast into a big smile, and I started to look at everyone who was confused. I

yelled​,​ “Beat all my goals!” and everyone started to clap. I felt special because I knew I

was the only one that beat my goal in the entire class. The teacher was about to put

down and most likely lose the slip of paper on his desk. It was full of clutter and looked

like a pile for mice ​lived there​. “Wait, can I show my final goal to my dad?” I asked.

He let me go to my dad who was a long term substitute for a teacher who

recently had a child. ​My dad was always encouraging and wanted me to do my best​. I

ran​ all the way to the middle school hallway where he was and I ​waved​ my arms as if I

was ​one of​ those inflatables from car commercials. I made it to the room and there he

was, sitting on the computer. The room was dark and empty and he looked at me. I

decided to do the same prank in class and looked sad. “I finished the last NWEA test.”

He said​, ​“Well did you beat your goal?”

I already was tired of the prank and decided to tell him. “Yeah look dad, I beat it! I

beat all my NWEA goals!”

He looked almost as happy as I was, “Great job son​, ​I am very proud of you.”

I got back to the classroom and everyone was lined up by their cubbies.
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I was confused because I didn’t know what was going on. Mr. Deck said we were going

outside​,​ and he also gave me a chocolate ice cream sandwich. He said it was for

beating all my goals and that I can eat it outside. When we got outside, I stood to the

side at first to think about how shocked I was on ​how well I performed​. I knew I ​had

been doing very well this year like beating all the challenge words on a spelling test and

having all the answers on group assignments, but I never expected to accomplish all my

NWEA test goals. I never really paid attention to how smart I was because it never

occurred to me and felt natural. I realized that I was wasting recess time and finished

my ice cream. I caught up with my friends who were playing mini four square. They all

saw me and congratulated me on beating my goals.

My friend Ontario said, “Congrats, Dre, you really are the smartest out of all of

us.”

I replied, “Nah, you are way smarter than me, I just got lucky.”

He said, “No way, I barely paid attention to any of the questions and was the first

one done every time and that is why I never beat any of my goals.”

Then I said, “So what? You are always getting things done fast because you

know what to do.”

Our conversation seemed to last forever, and I appreciated that he thought I was

smart after this year. Other people were talking to me saying how smart I was until Mr.

Deck blew the whistle for us to come back inside. Everyone got seated back into the

classroom and started doing their own thing. The teacher suddenly called me and the

other person who beat their goals to his desk.

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He then said to ​us​, “You two have done something magnificent today and the

fact that you guys were the only ones in the class to beat your goals makes you really

smart.” He then said that I can throw oranges at the board at the end of the year

because of beating my goal. I felt like this day has been amazing, and I was really proud

of myself. The day got even better when Mr. Deck got a call from my dad. He said to go

over to my dad’s class, so I walked over to the class and I didn’t know what to expect.

When I got there, the kids in the class at the time saw me and took me over to a blue

whirly seat. Then they went in front of me so I could not see my surroundings very well.

I was completely lost, and I got even more confused when they started asking me

pointless questions. I felt like they were stalling for something, but I wasn’t too sure.

After all of the useless questions that I wasn’t even paying attention to, they led me over

to the front of the classroom. Someone put their hands over my eyes so I couldn’t see

anything. After a while, the person took their hands off and I froze. On the brown

wooden, kidney-shaped table was a Wii U. My dad knew I wanted one, and he was

really proud of me for beating all three of my NWEA goals. I was so happy that I started

to do a weird dance that could have been a competition for the orange justice dance

from Fortnite. At that moment, I knew that being smart pays off and that I should always

strive for it.

That day has influenced my life more than I would have thought. Back then I only

thought that if I did well in school that I would always be rewarded but now I realize

there is more to it. ​Now I realize that doing well in school can help you academically,

and you can be recognized for it.​ That memorable moment ​helped me to want to
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accomplish so much more​. I kept working hard, and I​ continued to be successful​. It

inspired me to do my best and always strive to achieve academic excellence. My

grades have stayed high since that day and I will never stop doing my best on any work.

I have kept my word because I am now a freshman in high school taking college

classes. Being smart really pays off in the end.